Cooler Master CM310 Gaming Mouse Review

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A lot of bling and bang for your buck.

By William VanWinkle

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Cooler Master is known for its PC cases, power supplies, and as its name implies, CPU coolers, but it also makes peripherals as well. The CM310 (See it at Amazon) is Cooler Master’s first-ever gaming mouse, and it features RGB backlighting, an “ambidextrous” ergonomic design, and a Pixart A3325 “gaming grade” optical sensor. Despite these ritzy features it's only $30, so it's surprisingly affordable.

Before I dive into this review, I’d like to acknowledge a passage from the CM310 webpage, which both sets the stage for this product’s market positioning and provides my all-time favorite sentence ever published in mouse marketing: “The choice for gamers of all levels, providing unassuming dependability and reliability without asking for much - like that one nice guy who's been friend-zoned but sticks around ‘just in case.’” Thanks for the chuckle, Cooler Master.

Cooler Master CM310 – Design and Features

Like most gaming peripherals, the CM310 is matte black. An RGB strip lines the perimeter of the mouse just under its top panel. Below the backlit scroll wheel are three buttons: the top and bottom buttons scroll through seven preset DPI settings, and the middle button changes the lighting preset. The rear of the mouse features a Cooler Master logo, backlit in the same color as the scroll wheel. The sides of the mouse have rubber grips, and if you flip it over and you’ll find two plastic feet and the Pixart A3325 sensor.

In Cooler Master’s reviewer's guide, the company states that the CM310 has an “ambidextrous grip.” This spurred a semantics battle in my brain. While the mouse does have a symmetrical shape, it only has thumb buttons on its left side. A true ambidextrous mouse features matching buttons on both sides, or no buttons on either side. Therefore, the CM310 is definitely a right-handed mouse, albeit one with a symmetrical shape.

In order to cater to both palm-grip and claw-grip gamers, the CM310 has a slight indent where the tips of your fingers should touch the left/right buttons. Playing with both styles, I found the indents did make it easier to use either grip. Typically I use a half-palm, half-claw style when playing normally and standard claw when sniping.

The CM310 does not use any software. For the DPI switching, there are seven pre-installed DPI settings: 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, and 10,000. You can also switch between five lighting presets by pressing the middle button. Here's how the lighting presets work: lighting 1 is the “rainbow mode” present on almost every gaming peripheral, lighting 2 makes the backlight match the scroll wheel (which indicates your DPI setting), lighting 3 is a “breathing” version of setting 2, lighting 4 cycles through colors with a breathing effect, and lighting 5 has different colors shoot along the sides of the mouse. Personally, I thought 1 and 5 looked the best.

Is the absence of a driver utility good or bad? Well, if you’re fond of programming macros and having complete functional control, it’s bad. If you don't like to hassle with confusing software, which mice and keyboard software can be, it’s probably good. The CM310 offers a reasonable range of rainbow-tinted foofaraw without relying on software. This appeals to my minimalist tendencies, especially since I can still plug macros into our gaming keyboard. It does limit your options for customization, but at this price it's not shocking there's not a full-blown software suite available.

Cooler Master CM310 – Gaming

To test the CM310, I booted up Overwatch, Team Fortress 2, and Fortnite. Across all three games, the CM310 performed well. Clicks felt precise, and the mouse’s plastic feet let it slide smoothly across both desk and mousepad alike. Switching DPI profiles on the fly was a bit tricky due to the rather large hump on the mouse’s top where the buttons are located. I could reach the DPI up-and-down buttons with my first two fingers, but it was an awkward stretch. Still, while I only used two settings (500 and 1000 DPI), having the option to change modes on the fly was much appreciated.

I found the scroll wheel’s notches to be quite useful, ensuring I never missed a weapon switch. I did find the textured rubber side grips to be a bit slippery – more slippery, in fact, than the rest of the mouse. For a $30 mouse, I got no jitter or any similar issues that seem to crop up in low-end mice when moving slowly. While I was somewhat skeptical of the “gaming grade sensor,” (with the casual target audience, the line sounded like it was meant to lure the uninformed) it performed smoothly and consistently.

I think the only thing holding back this mouse is its shape, as I found using the CM310 for prolonged periods to be somewhat uncomfortable. While the symmetrical shape is advertised to be a benefit, I'm used to the ergonomic grooves found on right-handed gaming mice. Thus, the CM310’s design felt unnatural and awkward. Another couple weeks of use might soften my stance on this, but after a week behind the (scroll) wheel, using the CM310 still felt a bit weird.

Cooler Master CM310 – Purchasing Guide

The Cooler Master CM310 has an MSRP of $29.99, and since it was recently launched that's the same price you'll find it on Amazon:

The Verdict

The Cooler Master CM310 is a great first attempt from Cooler Master. It features slick RGB lighting, seven adjustable DPI settings, and a notched scroll wheel. At this price, you can't ask for much more. While this mouse might not ever think of you as “more than just a friend”, it’s still a great budget pick.

Great

Plenty of welcome features and a low price makes the Cooler Master CM310 a great budget-friendly gaming mouse.